Leuchanka last suited up for the Dream in 2012
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Dream have signed center Yelena Leuchanka to a training camp contract, head coach Nicki Collen announced Thursday.
“I am excited to re-welcome Yelena Leuchanka to the Atlanta Dream,” Collen said. “Yelena will bring a veteran presence to training camp after many successful seasons overseas.”
A former member of the Belarus women’s basketball team, the 6-5 center returns to the Dream for the first time since 2012. Leuchanka most recently played for Homentmen (Lebanon) with Jessica Breland to help lead the team to the 2017-18 Lebanese Championship title. Since leaving the WNBA in 2012, Leuchanka has also played for the Xinjiang Tianshan Deers (China) and the Good Angels Košice (Slovakia).
“Yelena is a very talented and efficient offensive player that plays with poise and patience in the post and has solid range,” Collen added. She is in incredible shape after coming off stints in China and Lebanon this winter. Her national team experience with Belarus gives her a confidence to consistently compete against the best in the world.”
A four-year veteran of the WNBA, Leuchanka has averaged 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds over her career with stops in Charlotte, Washington and Atlanta. Over two seasons with the Dream, Leuchanka played in 51 games and started five. She had her best season in the WNBA in 2010, helping Atlanta to the WNBA Finals and averaging 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds while playing in all 32 regular season games.
The Dream home opener is scheduled for Saturday, May 26 against the visiting Dallas Wings beginning at 6 p.m. Season, group and single-game tickets are available now. For more information, visit atlantadream.net or call 877.977.7729.
The Atlanta Dream, who is celebrating its 11th season in the WNBA in 2018, will play its home games in McCamish Pavilion on the Georgia Tech campus. Atlanta has qualified for the playoffs seven times, winning conference titles in 2013, 2011 and 2010.
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